Electric fence insulator



July 21, 1959 E. H'USEBY ELECTRIC FENCE INSULATOR Filed Nov. 9. 1954 United States Patent ELECTRIC FENCE INSULATOR Elvin Huseby, Morris, Minn. Application November 9, 1954, Serial No. 467,685

2 Claims. (Cl. 174-163) This invention relates .to an electric fence mount and more particularly to an insulator mount for attachment to fence posts for holding an electric fence wire in insulated spaced relation therewith.

I am aware of various prior art insulators adapted to be secured to the sides of fence posts and to hold electric fence 'wires in spaced relation with the ground to discourage range or pastured animals from crossing over a boundary line. Those particular insulators which have metal fasteners for securing to a post with the fence wire in turn secured to a porcelain or other dielectric spool member on the fasteners, are apt to short out because of the closeness between the electrical wire and the grounded post. The electrical shorting is more troublesome where the fence post is constructed of steel and when electrical potential is applied to the wire during damp or rainy weather. In addition to financial loss suffered by wasted electricity, animals soon learn the particular conditions under which an electric fence is grounded so as to be ineffectual and they will break the wire and tear down fence posts during such periods. All of the prior art electric fence insulators of which I am awareare tedious to mount, requiring nailing, fastening with screws or even drilling holes through steel fence posts at a measured distance from the ground.

It is an important object of the present invention to overcome the above noted difficulties and to provide an efficient and inexpensive electrical fence mount which will maintain an applied voltage upon the fence wire even under adverse weather conditionsto effectively dis courage animals from crossing over the fence line and from breaking and tearing down the fences.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple mount which is cheap andquick tofasten, yet which is reliable and will firmly grip the post against accidental displacement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an insulator mount of the class described which can be easily secured to special or standard fence posts by the simple expedient of hog rings applied with a con ventional gripping tool so as to close and exert pressure on a resilient portion of the insulator and thereby effect a removably secure and safe structure for the support of electric fence wires.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of my invention adaptable to be secured to a channel-type steel fence post, certain hidden portions being shown in dotted line, structure;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the insulator illustrated in Fig. 1, the insulator being mounted on a channel-type post with an electric fence wire secured in position thereon; unessential portions of the wire and post are omitted;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2 and showing the insulating mount secured in clinched position on the post;

Fig. 4 is another form of my invention similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but adapted to be secured to steel posts having a T-form in cross-section;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the form of insulator shown in Fig. 4 with the device mounted on a fence post and retaining an electric fence wire in secure position thereon; unessential portions of the fence post and wire are eliminated;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5 showing the alternate form of Fig. 4 in secured position on a steel fence post;

Fig. 7 is a still further form of the invention adapted to be secured to a fence rod rather than the conventional fence post; hidden portions are shown in dotted line;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 7, the device being mounted in position upon a steel rod and holding an electric fence wire in secure position thereon, unessential portions being cut away; and

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8 and showing the device in clinched and mounted position on a steel rod.

With continued reference to the drawing, the insulating mount adapted to be secured to a channel-type steel fence post is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The mount comprises a dielectric body portion 10 which has apair of legs 11 and 12 secured thereto and terminating outwardly in resiliently and horizontally spaced ends 13 and 14 respectively. The legs 11 and 12 at their inner walls 15 and 1 6, cooperatively define an area such as to encompass a channel-type steel post 17 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The insulating fence mount 10 is so constructed that when in relaxed and normal condition, the inner walls 15 and 16 will be in slight clearance with the outer surface 18 of the channel-type fence post 17. Thus the device may be quickly and easily slipped over the post without offering any resistance to the placement of the mount. The leg ends 13 and 14 are spaced by a small clearance 19 and the entire leg structure 11 and 12 is resilient so that the ends may be converged under force.

Openings 20 and 21 are formed laterally through the leg ends 13 and 14 respectively for the purpose of receiving a clinch-type fastener such as hog ring 22' as shown in Fig. 3. The hog ring may be of ordinary structure having a medial bend 23, a pair of bends 24 in spaced relation with the medial bend 23, and pointed ends 25 which are adapted to be inserted into the openings 20 and 21 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. A conventional tool (not shown) is utilized to clinch the hog ring and thus bring the leg ends 13 and 14 resiliently into convergence and to cause the inner walls 15 and 16 of the legs 11 and 12 respectively to closely grip the corresponding outer walls 18 of steel post 17.

Oppositely of the legs 11 and 12 is a wire retaining means 26 which may simply form a horizontal slot 27 extending toward the body portion 10 and terminating in line 28, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. An opening 29 may be formed intermediate the slot line 28 and the outer edge 30 of the retaining means 26 for the purpose of receiving a fastener such as an ordinary nail 31 as shown in Fig. 2. When thus positioned, an electric wire 32 may be securely retained against lateral displacement and yet held in insulated relation with respect to the post 17 and the ground into which the post has been driven.

The operation of my insulating electrical fence mount will be obvious from the previous description. The deoverall qualities are such as to maintain the electric vice is slipped over the top end of a fence post 17 having the channel structure shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The device is adapted to slide easily although the inner walls of the recessed area are in close conformance with the outer walls 18 of the channel post 17. With the insulator held at the desired height, a hog ring is slipped over the leg ends 13 and 14 so that points are in alignment with the openings 28 and 21. The hog ring pliers are then forcibly applied so as to clinch the hog ring and bring the entire leg structure into close binding contact with the post. The insulating mount may be constructed of rubber, plastic or other resilient dielectric material having proper weather resistance and toughness. These insulating mounts may be installed very rapidly, a whole field sometimes being equipped in a matter of several hours. The electrical fence wire 32 is pulled along a plurality of the spaced fence posts 17 and is merely lifted up in its continuous length to in terfit in the groove 27, following which a fastener such as nail 31 is dropped through'the retaining means to prevent lateral displacement of the wire.

The form shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 functions similarly to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the legs 33 v and 34 having similar outwardly extending ends 35 and 36 and provided with openings 37 and 38 as previ ously discussed. In this case, however, the inner walls 39 and 48 on the respective legs 33 and 34 are formed so as to interfit and bind against a steel post 41 having a T-shaped cross-sectional area with outwardly facing surfaces 42 adapted to cooperate with and bind against the inwardly facing surfaces 39 and of the legs 33 and 34. The retaining means 43 may be identical in structure to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 so as to cooperate with fence wire 44 in the same manner as previously described.

A further form of the invention is shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 in which the insulating body 10 has outwardly extending legs 45 and 46 each resiliently terminating in end portions 47 and 48. A slot 49 provides horizontal spacing between the leg ends 47 and 48 and each of the legs may be provided with similar openings 50 and 51 for receiving a hog ring in the manner described. An opening 52 is defined by inner walls 53 which in turn are adapted to cooperate in binding relation with a steel rod 54 as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The retaining means 55 may be identical or similar to those of the previous forms described. As before, when a hog ring 22 is clinched in the openings 50 and 51 as shown in Fig. 9, the inner walls 53 of the resilient and dielectric body will grip the rod 54 at the desired height from the ground. Electric wire 56 may be secured in the retaining means 55 in the manner previously described.

It may thus be seen that I have developed an extremely efficient and useful insulating mount which can be quickly and cheaply fastened to any one of several types of steel fence posts to form a convenient and longlasting mount for an electric fence wire. The dielectric wire with operating potential at all times and regardless of weather conditions.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. An insulating electric fence mount, comprising an elongate and completely dielectric and unitary body portion to be normally applied in a horizontal position on an upright fence post, said body portion having at one end a pair of yieldable and outwardly extending legs and also having an enlarged recess between the legs defining substantially the cross-sectional configuration of a fence post, said legs terminating outwardly in resilient and relatively narrow spaced ends, an openended clinchertype ring extending inwardly at the outside surfaces of each of said legs at their end portions for pressing and holding the legs firmly against the sides of a fence post received in said recess, said body portion having at the opposite end thereof a wire-retaining means spaced from the recess for securely holding the wire in insulated condition and spaced relation from the post.

2. An insulating electric fence mount comprising an integral elongate and completely dielectric body, said body having an enlarged central portion and opposite end portions disposed on opposite sides of said central portion, said central portion having formed therethrough a recess defining substantially the cross sectional configuration of a fence post upon which the mount is to be mounted, one of said end portions comprising a pair of resilient legs adapted to be flexed toward and away from one another, said legs defining therebetween a recess in communication with the recess in the central portion of the body, said legs having aligned openings formed therethrough adjacent the outer ends thereof for receiving an opened-ended clincher-type ring, the opposite end portions of which project through said aligned openings for clamping a fence post within the recess defined in said body, the opposite end portion of said body including a pair of spaced-apart portions defining a slot therebetween for receiving an electric wire, said spaced-apart portions having aligned openings formed therethrough for receiving a fastener for retaining the electric wire against lateral displacement out of the slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,429,857 Verner Oct. 28, 1947 2,430,259 Tichota Nov. 4, 1947 2,485,288 Homann Oct. 18, 1949 2,688,655 Gross Sept. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 281,351 Switzerland June 3, 1952 

